1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supply demand forecasting device, method, and program, and in particular, to a supply demand forecasting device, method, and program for forecasting the demand of supplies which a main machine consumes before and after a product accompanying supplies (hereinafter, “main machine”) is sold on the market.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, with respect to a product, such as a copy machine or a printer, accompanying supply (hereinafter, “main machine”), the demand figure relating to a supply which such a main machine consumes is determined empirically from changes in the past sales records of the supply, trends of the market, and sales schedule figures of the main machine.
In this way, because the forecast of the demand figure (hereinafter, “demand forecast”) depends on rules learned by experience or know-how, the forecasted value of the demand figure differs in accordance with the skills and experience of an individual carrying out the forecast, and necessarily, the accuracy of the forecasted value deteriorates. In this way, a demand forecast method relating to supplies for a product has not been realized due to the large number of parameters, the complexity of calculation, and the difficulty of a systematic approach for solving problems.